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I took the chance to start my summer vacations with a trip to Bulgaria to visit a friend and watch IRON MAIDEN giving their second summer tour concert.
Since I didn`t make it to the Earl's Court last December I owed to myself the satisfaction of watching the Beast live somewhere abroad.
As you may already know the British veterans are currently delivering the third part of their AMOLAD tour, this time in some Europeans and other countries they didn`t visit in the first and second part or ever before in the past. Few weeks ago it was announced that in this part they would play 5 songs from the Number of the Beast album celebrating its 25th anniversary. Just knowing that you are going to watch IRON MAIDEN live is enough, but having this as an extra treat makes things irresistible.
The first person I saw when I set foot in Sofia late the previous night was a long-haired taxi driver listening to Metallica and talking about the next day`s concert, that felt nice! The concert was a big event for the whole city and that became obvious the next day when you could see people with metal T-shirts walking around the streets or hanging around in parks waiting for the time to arrive. There were many huge posters informing about the gig and it seemed that the city was into the concert`s vibe. I bought my tickets that day and just to compare things a little bit the prices were ranging from 12,5 (the first promotional 3000 tickets) to 30 euros in the VIP area, while in Athens the price was 55 euros. I leave this without comments
to make your own thoughts on the subject…
I arrived at the Lokomotiv Stadium rather late and missed Lauren Harris and a local band that were supporting the main act. Didn`t feel bad at all I have to admit since daddy's girl is not of my taste, musically at least. The streets around the stadium were filled with metal maniacs with or without tickets and the only thing I have to say is that the people there drink a lot! Entering the venue was easy and everything seemed well organised. There were many people from neighbour countries like Greece, Romania, Hungary etc. and some from other more distant European countries. I estimate the crowd around 30.000 people and that`s what the radio said the next day, it was huge!
IRON MAIDEN entered the stage with the same intro and in the same way as they did in Athens. They continued touring with the same setting, wearing the same clothes and all the things that make their gigs spectacular. The sound was loud enough, but in an open area with so many people you have to get close to feel it. I waited until it got darker to start closing in and at first I sat on the back trying to see things from a distance and watching mainly the two huge screens that made things easier for the ones in the back and the seated. I expected more extreme reactions from the Bulgarian crowd,
but a huge handicap is that most of them could recognise the songs, but didn't know the lyrics. They were expressive, they cheered, but they didn't shout for
the equivalent of the huge number that attended the gig.
The band was at the same, known high level of performance. Bruce was all over the place talking a lot and repeating how happy he is to return to Bulgaria with the rest of the guys after 25 years, Gers was all healthy and moving, Harris was singing and jumping all the time. The show was the same as in the rest of the tour and the setlist was extended by one song. 'Children of the Damned` was added and that made four songs from the "Number of the Beast", although we were promised five. If they make it five in the next concerts I will be pissed!
The set list was this:
01. Different World
02. These Colours Don't Run
03. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
04. Wrathchild
05. The Trooper
06. Children of the Damned
07. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
08. For The Greater Good of God
09. The Number of The Beast
10. Fear of The Dark
11. Run To The Hills
12. Iron Maiden
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13. 2 Minutes To Midnight
14. The Evil That Men Do
15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
Eddie and his tank appeared in "Iron Maiden" and then again he took a walk on stage during "The Evil that Men Do". The light show wasn't that much impressive this time because it took some after the concert started to get dark and because of the open stadium. That`s what happens when things get so big, you have some extra things like the huge screens and lots of space to move and you lose others like the close distance atmosphere. After the concert was over you could see only happy faces and the alcohol consuming went on all night around the stadium area.
Once again IRON MAIDEN completed their duty and offered their audience an audiovisual pleasure that will be remembered. They enjoy their second most successful peak of their career and that is reflected in their live shows. I can only sit back and wait for the next year's revival of the glorious days. Up the Irons!
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